Endless conveyer wear plate



April 5, 1938. A. E. w. JOHNSON ENDLESS CONVEYER WEAR PLATE Filed Feb.29, 1936 ylivzo y Invert/@07 figl z'izftbhns'on Patented Apr. s, 1938UNITED STATES PATENT OFFHIE Arnold E. W. Johnson, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New JerseyApplication February 29, 1936, Serial No. 66,349

5 Claims.

This invention relates to endless conveyers particularly for the type ofconveyer used in the potato digger art, as disclosed in the patent to B.Gronke et al., 1,673,193, granted June 12, 1928.

The main object of the invention is to provide a construction for theusual type of conveyers used in potato diggers or in similar types ofmachinery where potatoes, beets, or other root crops are conveyed fromone location to another, which prevents the wearing through of theconveyer links where they are detachably connected to each other.

Another object of the invention is to design detachable wear plateswhich may be easily connected and detached from each digger link.

Another object of the invention is to design the conveyer so that thesections or links can be quickly and easily attached and detached, sothat the elevator aprons may be lengthened and shortened.

Another object of the invention is to construct the detachable wearplate so that the bearing surface between each link and its respectiveconnecting portion is greatly increased, so as to reduce the bearingpressure between the link portions.

Another object of the invention is to construct the links of theconveyer so that the tubers or other crop products are carried inpockets formed by the links, which at the same time allow the dischargeof vines, stems, dirt and other undesirable foreign material.

In accomplishing the foregoing objects and other minor objects whichwill hereinafter be more specifically described and defined in theclaims, a preferred form of the improved details of the structure isillustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an elevator apron showing the link wearplates in position;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, looking in the direction of the arrows,along the section 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the link wear plate, looking in thedirection of the arrows, along section 33 of Figure 1; and,

Figure 4 is an end View of the link wear plate, looking in the directionof the arrows, on the section 44 of Figure 2.

This invention is herein disclosed as embodied in a potato digger orharvester of the type disclosed in the aforesaid patent to B. Gronke etal., in the elevator apron, as used in the potato diggers of this type.The links of these aprons, although heat treated and made of high carbonand manganese steel, last for a limited time, depending on the sort ofconditions to which they are subjected. As these digger links carryheavy loads of dirt and are run continuously in dirt, the combinedefiect of the heavy loads transmitted by one link to another and thegrinding action of the dirt, because of the agitation of the elevatoraprons, causes the greatest wearing where the links are joined together.The tendency of the links is to cut each other, so that the pitch of thechain is changed, with the result that the apron does not follow thesprockets, jumping off and leaving the elevator links strewn down thefield. It is the purpose of this invention, therefore, to improve thewearing quality of the ele-.

vator aprons, so that the length of life of this type of apron isgreatly prolonged.

As shown in Figure 1, the conveyer apron I0 is made up of a plurality ofdetachable rods or links I l, which are formed in a well-known manner.These links H may have straight,transverse portions in the center, or,as is usual, alternate links may have raised portions through thecenter, while the other links have depressed portions in their centersto form pockets to better aid in the conveying of the potatoes.

Figures 1 and 2 show a preferred construction of the digger links, inwhich the ends of the links are sheared straight. The links or rods IIare bentat both ends, as at 12, inwardly and rearwardly to form angulararms disposed in a common plane. At the pitch of the sprocket, the linksare again bent to form a hook portion 13, as best shown in Figure 2,thereby providing a recess to receive the straight portion of anothersimilar link I I. The hook portion 13 extends forwardly in a planeperpendicular to the transverse portion of the link. These links arereadily attached to and detached from each other and the conveyersformed from these links may be made into any length desired.

In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, the wear plate 14, as bestshown in Figures 1, 2, 3 and L is positioned in the hook portion I3 ofthe link H. The hook portion 13 is so bent that the thickness of thewear plate I4 is positioned so that the distance measured from the inneredge I5 to the corresponding portion l6 of the transverse portion of thelink is equal to the pitch P of the sprocket teeth. The wear plate Itmay be made from strip material, which is cut off into the lengthdesired and then bent to conform to the shape as disclosed in thedrawing. The wear plate I4 is U-shaped and has one leg of the U formedas at IT to conform to the diameter of the link. The portion I1 isconcave in shape and conforms to the under portion of the hook portionl3. The other leg of the wear plate I4 is bent to conform, as best shownin Figures 1 and 3, to the portion I2 of the link and has an ear I8,which assists in securing the plates in position. The U-shaped wearplate is straight where it contacts the transverse portion of the linkH, as at l9. This portion l9 forms the increased bearing surface for thelink H where it is connected to its successive link. This wearingsurface, as at 9, forms a surface contact for approximately one-half thediameter of its successive link, which is a considerable area, thusreducing pressure over the previous point of contact at the links, asdisclosed in the patent to Gronke et al. The previous contact surfacewas that formed by a cylinder contacting a circle. It is, therefore,obvious that the bearing surface between successive lengths has beengreatly increased. The bearing surface, as at l9, may also be extendedto conform, as shown in Figure l, to the curved surface of the bentportion I2, as at 20. It is to be understood that the wear plate 2| forthe other end of the link is of the opposite hand and cannot be usedinterchangeably with the wear plate on the other side of the link.

In order to attach the wear plates 14, the portion I! is first contactedwith the portion I3 of the hook portion and must be placed so that thelower portion 18 is positioned inwardly from the portion [3 of the hookportion 13. The wear plate is then swung downwardly and outwardly, sothat the portion Z of the wear plate contacts the bent portion 12 of thelink. The wear plate M is then moved longitudinally along the portion l3until the portion l9 contacts the inner curved portion of the hookportion I3. When the wear plate is in position, it is so locked by thecurved portion l1 and the contacting portion l8 that it cannot bereadily detached unless it is removed in the opposite way from which itwas attached. It is to be understood, however, that the wear plate 14may be welded or otherwise secured to the links I l.

The wear plates l4 may be made out of either soft or hard material,depending upon whether the wear plate or the link is to be worn throughfirst. However, as these wear plates are cheap to manufacture andreadily replaceable, it is desirable that these should be made from thematerial which will wear through first in soils of abrasive character,thus permitting a long life of the links by substituting new wearplates, as they are worn through.

The preferred embodiment of the invention herein described is alsocapable of certain other modifications without departure from the scopeof the invention to be defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wear plate for conveyer links comprising a substantially straightchannel-shaped portion of considerable length, an intermediate portioncurving away from the base and the sides of the channel, and an endportion extending away from the intermediate portion in spaced relationto the channel-shaped portion and in substantially the same direction asthe channel-shaped portion and having a laterally extending ear.

2. A wear plate for conveyer links comprising a U-shaped body of whichone leg is of channel shape opening outwardly of the U and the other leghas a laterally extending ear.

3. A wear plate for conveyer links comprising a U-shaped body of whichone leg is of channel shape opening outwardly and the base portion is acontinuation of the same channel but of lesser depth and the other leghas an outwardly extending lateral ear.

4. In a conveyer, the combination with a plurality of interconnectedlinks having substantially straight body portions and U-shaped endportions extending transversely from the body portions, of wear plateshaving channel-shaped portions embracing the insides of the legs of theU-shaped end portions of the links away from the body portions of thelinks, and, further portions extending along the insides of the basesand other legs and laterally extending ears in;

contact with the last mentioned legs.

5. In a conveyer, the combination with a pair of interconnected links,each having a substantially straight body portion and a U-shaped endportion, the body portion of one link extending through the U-shaped endportion of the other link, of a U-shaped wear plate extending along theinside of the U-shaped end portion of the last mentioned link and havingone leg of channel shape contacting the leg of the end portion away fromthe body portion and a laterally extending ear in contact with the otherleg of the end portion, said wear plate serving to keep out of contactthe body portion of the first mentioned link and the base of theU-shaped end portion of the last mentioned link and being retained onsaid end-portion by contact with the first mentioned link.

ARNOLD E. W. JOHNSON.

